1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to liquid cartridge determination systems and liquid cartridge determination methods. In particular, the present invention is related to liquid cartridge determination systems and liquid cartridge determination methods which determine whether a particular liquid cartridge has at least one predetermined characteristic associated therewith, e.g., whether the ink cartridge includes a defect.
2. Description of Related Art
A known inkjet recording apparatus is configured to record an image on a sheet of paper with ink. This known inkjet recording apparatus has a recording head, and the recording head has a plurality of nozzles formed therein. The recording head is configured to selectively eject ink from the nozzles, such that the image is formed on the sheet of paper.
The known inkjet recording apparatus also has a mounting portion to which a known ink cartridge is removably mounted. The known ink cartridge has an ink chamber, an ink supply portion, and an air intake portion. The ink chamber is configured to store ink therein, and when the ink cartridge is mounted to the mounting portion, ink is supplied from the ink chamber to the recording head via the ink supply portion while air is introduced into the ink chamber via the air intake portion.
Another known ink cartridge has a case configured to store ink therein, and an operation member pivotably coupled to the case. The known ink cartridge is configured to be mounted to a mounting portion formed with a recording head. The known ink cartridge has an urging member positioned between the case and the operation member, and the case and the operation member are coupled via the urging member. The operation member has connecting portions, and the connecting portions contact the case, such that the operation member pivots about the connecting portions between a first position and a second position. When the ink cartridge is mounted to the mounting portion, a first end of the operation member latches on to a first portion of the mounting portion, and then the operation member is pressed by a user, such that the operation member pivots from the first position to the second position while the urging member contracts. In accordance with the pivotal movement of the operation member from the first position to the second position, the connecting portions move toward the recording head, which causes the case to move toward the recording head. Subsequently, a second end of the operation member latches on to a second portion of the mounting portion, which completes the mounting of the ink cartridge to the mounting portion.
Nevertheless, the urging member may be inadvertently omitted when the ink cartridge is assembled. In such a case, the ink cartridge may not be mounted to the mounting portion completely, which may cause ink leakage between the ink cartridge and the mounting portion or may cause image recording failure. Moreover, a defective urging member may be loaded to the ink cartridge when the ink cartridge is assembled. Furthermore, the urging member, the operation member, or the case may be deformed by an impact that the ink cartridge receives when the ink cartridge is shipped from a factory or when the ink cartridge is dropped. When this occurs, the operation member may be locked in the first position or the second position, which may cause ink leakage between the ink cartridge and the mounting portion or may cause image recording failure. When the ink cartridge is packed in a packaging bag, and the interior of the packaging bag is depressurized, the operation member may be deformed, such that the operation member is locked in the first position or the second position. This may cause ink leakage between the ink cartridge and the mounting portion or may cause image recording failure.